Welcome to the Apex BASE Advanced Courses at the Perrine Bridge.
The Perrine Bridge soars 486 feet over the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho. This bridge is legal year-round (and very forgiving as far as BASE objects go), making it an ideal place to advance your skills as safely as possible.
Apex BASE has been conducting BASE jumping courses at the Perrine since 1988. We warmly invite you to join us and continue the tradition.
Best,
Jimmy & Marta
Advanced BASE Course Level One
The Advanced Course Level 1 is designed for all jumpers, regardless of your experience. We evaluate each student and decide how to advance their personal skill set to make them a safer, more well-rounded jumper. We reinforce emergency procedures with an emphasis on practical application, as well as augmenting the object avoidance and canopy control learned in the FBJC. The result is that ABJC will get you ready for the more advanced levels of jumping–such as cliffs and buildings.
The ABJC is a great way to:
- step back into currency if you have become uncurrent
- thoroughly coach your canopy skills
- augment your knowledge of exit methods
We focus on helping a novice BASE Jumper to progress as safely as possible into to a more experienced, stronger, safer jumper, ready and confident to progress to more technical objects (such as buildings and cliffs). We offer our ABJ course to any jumper who wants to improve their skills, regardless of the number of BASE jumps he or she has logged.
During this course, your instructors will jump with you, showing you how each drill is correctly performed (“monkey see, monkey do”). Your instructors will also film all of your jumps and video debrief each drill.
We cater each course to the needs, goals and observed weaknesses of each individual jumper in a fun, positive environment.
Every jumper will be challenged to the extent of his or her capability. Comfort levels will be pushed. At the end of the course, you will be a much stronger, more confident BASE jumper, well-prepared to extend the types of objects and jumps you approach going forward.
* Some packing supervision is available, but you do need a minimum packing proficiency in order not to slow the pace of the course down for the other jumpers. In other words: If you still don’t know how to pack, you are not ready for this course.
Prerequisites
In order to take the ABJC1, you must fit these criteria:
BASE jumpers who have participated in another recognized First BASE Jumping Course (whether or not the course was administered by Apex)
or
BASE jumpers who have been mentored and have learned the basics (malfunction response, PCA, hand held and canopy control)
No matter what your experience, you must be completely self-sufficient in packing to participate in the ABJC1.
We cheerfully open the ABJC1 to any jumper who wants to improve his/her canopy skills, regardless of the number of BASE jumps he or she has logged. If you’re not current, this is a great way to get back in the game.
Many of our students who take our First BASE Jump Course go directly into the advanced course on the following day. This gives you a small break in between the courses, but allows you to continue immediately after your course, building on the skills that you have acquired during your first jump course. In essence, turning your 3 day jump course into an intensive 6 day first jump course.
Course Cost Information
Course Costs
The total cost of the Advanced BASE Jumping Course Level 1 is $415.00 U.S. dollars (cash price) and includes a video download. Lodging, food and travel expenses are not included.
The full course fee is due at the beginning of the course, before jumping begins. You can pay for your course at the bridge, using cash, personal checks drawn on a U.S. bank or Traveler’s Checks. Regretfully, we do not accept credit cards.
Gear Rental
If you don’t have your own gear yet, we can rent you a canopy and container. Please let us know in advance and we’ll make arrangements. The cost is $20 per jump, plus a one-time inspection fee of $60.
Please note that a fee for shipping of the rental gear (to Boulder) might be necessary, depending on our travel plans.
Recurrency Auditing
Unlike our FBJC, each time you take the Advanced Course Level One, the same fee applies, as we offer one on one coaching including video debrief for each jump.
Course Content
The Advanced Course Level 1 focuses on (but is not limited to) the following drills:
1. 180-Degree Off-Heading Opening Drills
- We will do rear-facing exits (aka “floaters”), simulating having a 180-degree off-heading opening. The goal of the drill is to turning the canopy around quickly.
- We will then purposely pack some 180-degree off-heading openings and actually practice turning the canopy around quickly on risers.
It is absolutely critical to experience what an actual 180-degree off-heading opening is like before proceeding to cliffs or buildings. The standard rear-riser drill—opening on-heading and then getting on rears, stalling the canopy and turning it around—is nothing like the experience of a 180. That drill does not prepare you for the real-life malfunction.
When you experience a 180-degree off-heading opening in real life, the risers are twisted behind your head and you are spun around to face the object. This position makes it very challenging to find the risers, stop the canopy, back up the canopy (if necessary) and then turn it around. Many jumpers never do the true drill, so when they experience their first 180 at a cliff or a building they are taken completely off guard. An incorrect reaction often results in an injurious wall strike.
After successfully completing these drills, you will gain a deep respect for what an actual 180-degree off-heading opening is like. This familiarity with the dynamics will help you to react correctly when you experience the malfunction a solid, strikeable object.
2. Deep-Braked Approaches
You will learn to use your toggles to sink your canopy in for a safe, soft landing in any wind conditions. These skills will help to prevent you from stalling your canopy and making a hard (or even spine-first) landing. This is a crucial technique in BASE and should be one of the fundamental building blocks of any BASE jumper’s skill set.
3. Accuracy Drills
You will no longer be intimidated by the idea of landing on the beach or in the boulder field. During this course, the beach is our primary landing area. The boulder field is our secondary. (Forget about the big field. It’s too easy. 😉 )
Scheduling Your Course
To start, check out the course calendar on this website.
If one of the dates works for you, contact us to make sure there is a slot available for you. If none of these dates work, please choose a weekend that will work for you and contact us about it. We then check to see if that date works for us as well.
ABJC1 Itinerary
Opening Notes
As you might imagine, we designed the ABJC1 to be more flexible in scheduling than the necessarily more rigid FBJC itinerary. Here’s what you can, in general, expect.
Time Commitment
The ABJC1 is 3 days long. It starts at 8 a.m. on Monday morning and ends at noon on Wednesday.
Jumping Schedule
Day 1: ±5 jumps
Day 2: ±5 jumps
Day 3: ±3 jumps
If the energy level is high and some of the group express the desire to make more jumps, we have the ability to do so.
Emergency Insurance
We highly recommend getting an Air St. Lukes membership. Air St. Lukes covers its members with emergency medical transport to the closest, most appropriate care facility. When you become an Air St. Luke’s member, your annual membership fee waives any portion of the bill not covered by your insurance. It is a very good idea to have this in place.
Weather Notes
We run our BASE courses all year. However: December, January and February are very cold months, and snow is always a possibility over the winter. We discourage courses during this time of year as the days are short, and landing in the water becomes a hypothermia danger rather than a safety option.
Advanced BASE Course Level Two
The Advanced Course Level 2 is a very dynamic course. We designed it especially for jumpers who are completely self sufficient packing and have strong canopy skills, but still seek to grow as BASE jumpers.
Even though we will still work on canopy skills and accuracy, the goals for this course are different than Advanced Course Level One.
Prerequisites
In order to take the ABJC2, you must fit these criteria:
BASE jumpers who have participated in another recognized First BASE Jumping Course (whether or not the course was administered by Apex)
or
BASE jumpers who have been mentored and have learned the basics (malfunction response, PCA, hand held and canopy control)
No matter what your experience, you must be completely self-sufficient in packing and have logged at least 150 skydives to participate in the ABJC2.
Course Cost Information
Course Costs
The total cost of the Advanced BASE Jumping Course Level 2 is $415.00 U.S. dollars (cash price). Lodging, food and travel expenses are not included.
The full course fee is due at the beginning of the course, before jumping begins. You can pay for your course at the bridge, using cash, personal checks drawn on a U.S. bank or Traveler’s Checks. Regretfully, we do not accept credit cards.
Gear Rental
If you don’t have your own gear yet, we can rent you a canopy and container. Please let us know in advance and we’ll make arrangements. The cost is $20 per jump, plus a one-time inspection fee of $60.
Please note that a fee for shipping of the rental gear (to Boulder) might be necessary, depending on our travel plans.
Recurrency Auditing
Unlike our FBJC, each time you take the Advanced Course Level Two, the same fee applies, as we offer one on one coaching including video debrief for each jump.
Course Content
The Advanced Course Level 2 focuses on (but is not limited to) the following drills:
1. Multiple ways
In BASE jumping, 2-ways and 3-ways (and beyond) are not just about stepping off the object at the same time. Pilot chute sizes, delays, horizontal vs. vertical separation, landing slots and “plan-B preparedness” are all a part of this training. You’ll learn how to plan and execute multi-ways for the best safety and enjoyment of everybody on it.
2. Slider-up jumps
Jumping a slider at the bridge is an advanced technique due to the lower airspeed you will encounter. That lower airspeed, with a slider, creates variables. Managing off-heading openings, anticipating a longer snivel and executing intentional beach landings are all a part of this module.
3. Unpacked jumps
You’ll learn several methods available for unpacked jumps:
- Rollover/McConkey (Removing your bridle and pc, hanging the canopy down below you and front-flipping over the canopy)
- TARD (the Totally Awesome Rapid Deployment, which entails holding the canopy in your hand and throwing it up in front of you as you exit)
- TARD-over (Performing a front flip while holding the canopy in your hand)
4. Night jumps
Jumping the bridge at night can be done safely if the proper preparations are made beforehand. We will walk you through the differences of night from day jumping and perform a night jump with you.
5. Water landings with a round canopy
Jumping a round canopy off the bridge and intentionally landing in the water is available for an additional fee. We will pack the round for you while you audit the process, supervise the jump and arrange the boat to pick you up. We’ll handle the cleanup/gear-drying process for you, too.
Scheduling Your Course
To start, check out the course calendar on this website.
If one of the dates works for you, contact us to make sure there is a slot available for you. If none of these dates work, please choose a weekend that will work for you and contact us about it. We then check to see if that date works for us as well.
ABJC2 Itinerary
Opening Notes
As you might imagine, we designed the ABJC2 to be more flexible in scheduling than the necessarily more rigid FBJC itinerary. Here’s what you can, in general, expect.
Time Commitment
The ABJC2 is 3 days long. It starts at 8 a.m. on Monday morning and ends at noon on Wednesday.
Jumping Schedule
Day 1: ±5 jumps
Day 2: ±5 jumps
Day 3: ±3 jumps
If the energy level is high and some of the group express the desire to make more jumps, we have the ability to do so.
Emergency Insurance
We highly recommend getting an Air St. Lukes membership. Air St. Lukes covers its members with emergency medical transport to the closest, most appropriate care facility. When you become an Air St. Luke’s member, your annual membership fee waives any portion of the bill not covered by your insurance. It is a very good idea to have this in place.
Weather Notes
We run our BASE courses all year. However: December, January and February are very cold months, and snow is always a possibility over the winter. We discourage courses during this time of year as the days are short, and landing in the water becomes a hypothermia danger rather than a safety option.
Sign Up
To get started, fill out the form to the right. We’ll contact you to arrange payment of your deposit and send your instructional materials.